What is Your Goal?
Every year millions of people make getting in shape their New Year’s resolution. It’s the “I’ll start Monday” mentality that we battle the rest of the year but on a much larger scale. But what exactly does getting in shape mean to us? What is our motivation? What are our goals exactly? Asking the why is probably the most important question to think through in order to optimize success. Learning the how to facilitate the why and subsequently devising a productive plan could turn this year’s resolution into next year’s reason to be thankful. It’s actually easier than you could have ever imagined.
First, you need to write down your goals and how you think you can accomplish them. Spend some time researching people who have done what you plan to do and how they did it. What were their struggles? One of the most crucial things to consider is safety. You need to make sure that the exercises you decide on are not inherently dangerous. Are you going to be using a video, going to a class, hiring a trainer or even buying a piece of equipment? Do your due diligence. I don’t typically recommend any videos that have strength training exercises in them like push-ups, pull-ups, lunges or squats. If you haven’t been exercising regularly, chances are your body needs a refresher on the proper mobility, flexibility, strength and reflexes to do these movements under qualified guidance. If professional guidance is absolutely off the table, video yourself doing the movements and watch the videos. If anything about the movements doesn’t look right, it isn’t.
We were all born with the ability to know what right or wrong looks and feels like, but unfortunately we all have to sit for long periods of time in our society so we tend to lose the ability to know what right or wrong feels like. Thankfully, we never lose the ability to know what right or wrong looks like. If when you watch the video and it doesn’t look like the movement you were trying to do, do some more research and continue to work on these movements like you would if learning any new skill. This is the skill of strength. Keep videoing and keep refining. You should eventually learn how to do the movements correctly and in the process get stronger, healthier and burn some calories.
If you feel like you would have more success in a group setting (my personal favorite) or are wanting to join a class, make sure the instructor is a subject matter expert in what they are teaching. If you don’t feel comfortable asking for their qualifications, Google is a beautiful thing, and you can usually get all the information about your instructor you are looking for. I’m pretty good with instructing TRX and if your go to their website you’ll find that I can back that up with the amount of education I have in it. Most instructors don’t know what they don’t know, and just because they look fit doesn’t mean they know how to instruct, correct, modify or when to refer people to a medical professional. I teach a lot of professional education around the country to health and fitness practitioners and approximately 80 percent don’t know how to properly teach or even do a squat themselves.
The main reasons people don’t stay motivated is they lack direction or get injured. If you are in a class, make sure quality of movement is more important than quantity. The only thing a lot of bad movements will get you is an eventual injury. You should feel like you are ready to take over the world most days after training, not like you need a nap. Look for training that makes you feel better instead of chasing one that leaves you feeling defeated. There seems to be a surge of fitness masochism where a training session isn’t good unless you get annihilated. Remember, adaptation is what a training protocol should provide, not just fatigue. Anyone can make you tired but can they make you stronger? If you are bargain shopping for fitness instruction you will get what you pay for. The more education your trainer or instructor invests in, the more they are investing in your success. Set a goal, ask questions, get moving and enjoy every second of it!!
